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Title

Median Age

Trend at a Glance

​

At last count

35.7 years

Current Through

2015

Category

People

What does this measure?

Median age measures the relative age of a population by dividing the area's population age distribution into two equal parts: The halves of the population younger and older than the median value. For instance, a median age of 55 means that half of the represented population is over 55, reflecting the prevalence of more middle age and senior adults in an area. Shifts in a population’s age can be attributed to the net impact of changes in life expectancy, declining or increasing birth rates, and migration to and from an area. Many services, from schools to libraries to health and human services, are impacted by the age of the population it serves. Trends in a population’s aging can help service providers plan for meeting the evolving needs of the community.

How is Wake County performing?

Wake County's median age remains consistently lower than the national and state medians. The State Demographer projects Wake County’s population will continue to age, reaching a median age approaching 40 by 2030.

Did you know?

Wake County median age is 35.7, compared to North Carolina is 38.4 and the U.S. average is 37.8

Data Considerations

The Census Bureau's one-year or five-year estimates are referenced based on jurisdiction size. One-year estimates, used for higher-populated areas and considered more current, are used for county, state, and national data. Five-year estimates, considered more accurate, are used for municipal data. More can be read about these estimates here: http://www.census.gov/acs/www/guidance_for_data_users/estimates/

There is a lag between the collection and reporting of census data; data for 2014 will not be released until March and June of 2015.

Charts & Maps

Data is updated:

The United States Census Bureau publishes official population estimates and population estimate revisions for prior years annually. County, state, and national data are released in March; municipal data are released in June.